Caught on Camera: Suspect Wanted in Lottery Ticket Theft

2014-07-25T02:14:21Z2014-07-25T03:41:39Z

by Kim Powell

NewsWest 9

ODESSA - Two buddies walked into the Kent Kwik on 42nd and Grandview back in May. They lingered around the store, in plain view of the cameras, and decided it would be a good idea to steal a package of Texas Dream House lottery tickets.

The suspect is in the grey sweatshirt in the corner of the video, waiting for clerks to walk away before he makes his move.

"You know, if it's a 110 degrees outside, you know we're having these hot summers and you see someone that's standing around in a hoodie--doesn't always mean they're a bad guy or they're up to something--but it deserves a second look," Susan Rogers with Odessa Crime Stoppers said. "Obviously the guy in the turquoise tank top knows the guy in the grey sweatshirt, so he is a person of interest."

When the two part ways, the guy in the hoodie sticks around, getting fidgety and antsy for his future misdemeanor.

After several minutes, he finally reaches over the counter and snatches the scratch offs, and leaves the store without a second look.

However, there's a problem when it comes to stealing lottery tickets.

"It's really kind of fruitless to do that because the lottery tickets actually have numbers, something like a serial type number," Rogers said.

So if you cash it in, you're busted. No dream house for you.

"I mean how crazy would it be to steal a bunch of lottery tickets and you hit one of those big jackpots? You can't even cash it in, it's a stolen lottery ticket," Rogers said.

This is not the first time lottery ticket thefts have wound up on Caught On Camera.

"We've had a lot of success with Caught on Camera. I think we've run three or four of these in the past and we've arrested more than half of those people that we've run on there," Rogers said.

If you think you recognize these men, please call Odessa Crime Stoppers at 333-TIPS.